Jena 6 Update and Mychal Bell's Plea Bargain

On December 16, 2007, radio host R2C2H2 Tha [sic] Artivist interviewed two people associated with the Jena 6 case, Mychal Bell's lawyer (Attorney Lewis Scott) and Mychal Bell's father (Marcus Jones). R2C2H2 gave interviewees the opportunity to discuss the pros and cons of Mychal Bell taking a plea bargain. The interview started off with the lead attorney, Lewis Scott, discussing how he felt about a plea bargain for Bell. Scott explained that Bell's adult charges were dismissed, but he was still held responsible for battery charges, and if the legal team continued to fight Mychal Bell's case, it could've been a couple of years. With this time gap plus the time Mychal Bell already served, Bell would not have the opportunity to further his education and didn't play football during the nine months that he was forced to take off in an adult prison. As with any athletic scholarship, if a scout does not see you playing, then they are less likely to invite you to their university. Scott says that the youth department explains that the possibility of Bell being released sooner than the next few months could happen. R2C2H2 goes on to point out that Justin Barker's family now has filed a civil suit against Mychal Bell's father, Marcus Jones.

Scott believes that regardless of whether a court case ensued, this would not change the problems of Jena, Louisiana in regards to the way students are treated and so forth. However, he does point out that if the case was pursued and Bell was able to get a trial, then it would expose the injustice that the local judicial system were responsible for when putting Mychal Bell in an adult prison for nine months when he was legally only supposed to be in a juvenile center. But in the end, Scott went with the decision of his client, Mychal Bell, who was supported by his mother, Melissa Bell. Scott reminds listeners that there are still five other clients who must be tried and tells Mychal Bell, a former and hopefully future running back, "You don't have to be ashamed of the decision you made. You ran the ball. You advanced the ball for a certain distance, and now somebody else is going to have to run the ball for awhile," meaning that Bell has done his time in a juvenile center as well as an adult prison, and it is time for someone else to fight against this case. Since then, a Towntalk article explains that KNOE-TV in Monroe reported that Bell had been placed in the home of Audie McSwain.

Marcus Jones disagreed completely with the terms of the plea bargain and wanted Mychal Bell to have the right to a fair trial. Marcus Jones explains to R2C2H2 Tha Artivist that the terms of the plea bargain include: 1) the Bell family cannot appeal the court's decision, 2) Marcus Jones will continue to pay child support until Mychal Bell is eighteen, 3) Melissa Bell and Marcus Jones would have to pay a portion of Justin Barker's medical bells, 4) any motions that the Bell family would file against the judge or lawyer would have to be withdrawn, 5) Marcus Jones and Melissa Bell would have to pay for all legal fees. Jones felt that with the 20,000+ people traveling for the Jena 6 rally, no police report from the Barker family on the fight, and with the backing of organizations like the NAACP; Reverend Al Sharpton; Michael Baisden; Salt n' Pepa; Mos Def; and so forth, Mychal Bell should have had a trial. Jones did admit that Mychal Bell was in an uncomfortable position due to Marcus Jones and Melissa Bell disagreeing over whether to take the plea bargain, the lawyer's (Attorney Lewis Scott) explanation of the plea bargain, and trying to make the best decision for his own life. Jones feels that as a black lawyer and man, Scott should've never agreed to this plea bargain, but he strongly feels that if five whites jumped Robert Bailey Jr. and Ryan Simmons and other blacks were threatened with a gun, but these same white people received no punishment, then the Jena 6 should not have been punished either.

Jones does not feel that Scott won this trial because both he and Melissa Bell still owe debts, and at the time of this interview, Mychal Bell was still in a juvenile detention center serving several more months. He felt that Scott should've filed two motions: to fight against the District Attorney, Reed Walters, who filed charges against the Jena 6 with no police report about the fight and the judge setting a bond against them with no documentation to base it on, and 2) the double jeopardy (meaning the defendant has already been convicted of the same offense) in the Third Circuit Court.

To hear this interview live, visit here.

My Opinion

Initially, I was pleased that Mychal Bell was finally going to get out of a juvenile detention center once I found out that he was placed into a foster home. My main interest is for Bell to be able to continue with his education and career path. I've never made it a secret that I strongly agree with Marcus Jones about the punishment of the Jena 6 versus Justin Barker and Justin Sloan though. If Barker instigated the fight that Justin Sloan and his sister had with Robert Bailey Jr. being jumped at the Fair Barn, and Bailey Jr. was met by police who told him to get back to his side of town, it sealed the stamp on an already extremely racist town. I do not understand how people can feel that the Jena 6 was any more wrong than Justin Sloan was. In a country where we fight an eye for an eye, the Jena 6 teenagers did the exact same thing that racist Justin Sloan did. Rumors are flying that a couple of the Jena 6 got to the fight afterwards and were never involved. Some of the boys were probably fed up with Jena High School turning on them, the police not putting a stop to other students' violence, and I'm pretty sure there were more unreported incidents of racism in Jena, Louisiana. In a Chicago rally I attended on September 9, 2007, the organizer, Tenisha Wilkerson, believed that the reason this case has gone on for so long was because of Justin Barker's parents. At the time, I wasn't quite sure if I agreed with Wilkerson, but it's beyond my belief that Marcus Jones has a civil case against him from the Barkers. This family is determined to put as many people in prison for their son as they possibly can. They also seem to have a serious bone to pick with Mychal Bell's parents because with the case against Marcus Jones, the parents having to pay about $600 monthly for Mychal Bell to be in a juvenile detention center, court costs, and Justin Barker's medical fees, that apparently isn't enough.

Do I feel that Mychal Bell was used as a sacrificial lamb? When R2C2H2 Tha Artivist quoted Frederick Douglass by saying, "If there is no struggle, there is no progress," I kept thinking about what is the extent of the struggle. I would've liked Bell to receive a fair trial, but with a bunch of witnesses who were hell bent on defending Justin Barker regardless of how wrong he was for antagonizing an already wounded young man, I don't believe Bell would've been freed of all charges. In a town where the judge and lawyer can put a teenager in an adult prison for almost ten months with no police report, I don't expect them to honor justice. I would've appreciated Scott and the rest of the legal team pointing out the flaws in DA Reed Walters, Judge Mauffrey, the lack of a police report, Bell being tried for the same fight and sent to an adult prison and a juvenile detention center, Justin Sloan being responsible for the first fight with Robert Bailey Jr. and getting off so easily, the racial slurs that Justin Barker had thrown out after the fight occurred in addition to the loaded rifle that he brought to school afterwards, and Justin Sloan's sister punished for the fight at Fair Barn. However, I'm not the one who was in prison, a detention center, or foster care. Mychal Bell is.

Some people said the fame of the Jena 6 trial has gone to some of these guys' heads, especially after Carwin Jones and Bryant Purvis were seen throwing up "six" symbols and Jones thanked "the fans" on the BET Hip Hop Awards. Steph Lova (radio personality) on BET's "Crank Dat Year Back: The Winners & Losers of 2007" television special said she wished that Carwin Jones and Bryant Purvis would've shown up in suits and ties, talking about how serious the issues are, and Jina Johnson (BET News) called them "decorated Negroes" and accused them of looking like they were from a rap entourage. How many teenagers do you know that show up to awards shows in suits? Regardless of the circumstances that they showed up on, people are forgetting that these are teenagers. They had their childhood stripped from them because of Justin Barker, Justin Sloan, gun point at Gotta Go convenience store, and the noose hangers. Sure, they're growing up faster than they probably would've liked to, but they should be able to go on living their lives just as the other teenagers involved in fights against them did, dressing like teenagers, and enjoying an awards show like everybody else. No, the white teenagers who beat up Robert Bailey Jr. or the guy who held a gun up at a Jena convenience store have not been on awards shows, but they haven't been arrested for an exorbitant amount of time, lost their freedom, or are paying legal fees either. I don't believe BET's Hip Hop Awards asked the Jena 6 to be on the show to celebrate someone being jumped but to bring more attention to the case and give those guys a chance to thank everyone for their support. As money hungry as Barker's family is, they're probably not paying a dime on Barker's medical fees or legal fees. Instead, they chose the Bell/Jones family to do it. I wish the Barkers would take that type of interest in explaining to their son the brutal history of the word, nigger, and why it's not okay to make fun of a person who was jumped on for coming to a party (invited or not). The police should've been called to escort Robert Bailey Jr., out if they really didn't want him there. I'm beyond belief that Jena High School's librarian claims she doesn't know what a noose is for. Of all the people in the world with books surrounding them, the librarian should be ashamed of herself for being uneducated or lying like that.

As for Robert Bailey Jr., being on MySpace with money in his mouth, initially, I was hoping that that was edited into a hoaxed picture. Unfortunately, he may have really taken that picture, but his family states that this was earned money, not the money from the Jena 6 Defense Fund. Whether the picture is real or photo editing, even if he did have a photo of money in his mouth, I can do that too. While typing this article, I tested out that theory. I put money in my mouth for a minute or so, then took it out. Does that automatically mean I can't spend it wisely? As soon as I put it back in my wallet, I logged into my computer and paid a bill. Money in a person's mouth means just that: I put money in my mouth the same way Bailey did, and I still knew what to do with it.

I hope that at least one of the other five of the Jena 6 will point out the brutal flaws in Jena, Louisiana. I would like to see DA Reed Walters and Judge Mauffrey disbarred; the Barker family pay for their own ridiculous trials as well as the Bell family's legal charges; Justin Sloan put in an anger management class, which ironically another one of R2C2H2 Tha Artivist's guests, the incredibly gullible and misinformed Professor Carol Swain stated she wanted Mychal Bell to go into during R2C2H2's interview; Justin Barker to be educated on racial slurs, and all charges dropped. During R2C2H2's interview, Swain said she hadn't been following the case, but suddenly she started remembering things when it came to slanderous rumors against the Jena 6. She also compared a family member of hers being jumped on and how she's not sure if she believes a shoe is not a weapon. Besides blatant racism, this is the second rationale that I consistently hear against the Jena 6. The difference is this. The Jena 6 did not just walk up to some random white guy and beat him up. If that were the case, I'd turn my back to the whole case and be disgusted by them doing such a thing to an innocent person. However, Barker was by no means innocent. He just wasn't punished for his immaturity and is being portrayed as an angel.

I would also like Jena High School to be held accountable for their policy that someone who instigates a fight be suspended just as those who started the fight because Barker instigated that fight. Regardless of whether Barker was expelled from high school later for having a loaded gun, he has not learned a thing. And even if Barker received no punishment for instigating a fight, I don't believe Sloan has learned his lesson either. Even when turning himself in and Sloan admitting he was guilty, he was released on parole because it was his first offense. In addition, he got a battery charge for hitting Sean Bell with a bottle, not for jumping Robert Bailey Jr. Granted Bell did have other legal issues, but what about the other five of the Jena 6? If they don't have a record, why were some of them in jail for days and months? And even when Bailey Jr. wrestled a gun away from someone pointing it at him at Gotta Go convenience store, he was charged with theft of a firearm, second-degree robbery, and disturbing the peace. If these are the ridiculous ways that other members of the Jena 6 have gotten a record, then are they really bad young men or is law enforcement as overzealous and color struck as they sound?

Other Updates

According to Towntalk's article December 2, 2007: Updates on key figures in the 'Jena Six' case, Robert Bailey Jr. still has not been able to finish school and is taking on random jobs to fill his time, and his case was supposed to be in November of 2007 but has now been pushed to a later date for more preparation. Jesse Ray Beard, the only one to not be expelled, returned to the football team and school, and his case will be tried in juvenile court, considering he's only 14. Carwin Jones was able to finish his education in an alternative high school, is working with family, charges were reduced at his arraignment to aggravated second-degree battery and conspiracy to commit the same, and his first trial could potentially be started on January 28, 2008. Bryant Purvis spent time in a private school in Monroe and with his uncle, Dallas Cowboy Jason Hatcher. Theo Shaw, the last to be released from jail besides Mychal Bell, only has 1 ½ credits before he is finished with high school. His lawyers and family are working towards giving him the opportunity to get his high school diploma, his charges were reduced to aggravated second-degree battery and conspiracy to commit the same, and his trial is also supposed to be on January 28th.

Note:In Jena 6 Updates: Mychal Bell Plea Bargains, there is incorrect information in regards to the actions of Justin Sloan and Justin Barker. My apologies. Associated Content has been notified to delete the alternate publication. The information in this article has been updated with the correct information.